Drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism

ABSTRACT

A drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism includes a slide, an adjusting lever, and a guide block. A first aperture, a pivoting part, and a second aperture are disposed on the slide. The adjusting lever includes a first end, a middle section pivoted to the slide, and a second end. The first end corresponds in position to the first aperture, and the second end corresponds in position to the second aperture. The guide block is pivoted to the second end of the adjusting lever. A protruding portion is disposed to the bottom of the guide block to slide in the second aperture by turning the guide block. The adjusting lever deflects and the first end slides in relation to the first aperture. A fastening member penetrates through the first end to connect to and fine tune for higher or lower of a drawer or similar object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism, and more particularly, to one that allows fine-tuning of the longitudinal position of the slide in relation to a drawer or deck incorporated to the slide.

(b) Description of the Prior Art

The prior art of adjustment method for a drawer or similar object mounted to a retractable slide is taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,291,929, 6,585,336 B2, and 6,923,518 B2, and Taiwanese Patent No. 1250002 (a patent same as that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,518 B2.) Among the cases cited, some require comparatively larger space for assembly (i.e., the combination of worm and worm gear) and others require greater operating force to be applied to wrench an adjustment member, which is much more laborious.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism that allows easy adjustment simply by using a hand tool to fine tune the longitudinal position of the slide in relation to a drawer or deck incorporated to the slide.

To achieve the purpose, the present invention includes a slide, an adjusting lever and a guide block. A first aperture, a pivoting part, and a second aperture are disposed on the slide. The adjusting lever comprises a first end, a middle section, and a second end. The middle section is pivoted to the pivoting part of the slide. The first end of the adjusting lever corresponds in position to the first aperture of the slide, and the second end of the adjusting lever corresponds in position to the second aperture of the slide. The guide block is pivoted to the second end of the adjusting lever. A protruding portion is disposed at the bottom of the guide block in relation to the second aperture of the slide. Accordingly, the protruding portion slides in the second aperture by turning the guide block and the adjusting lever defects with its middle section where pivoted to the pivoting part as the axis, while the first end of the adjusting lever slides in relation to the first aperture. Wherein, the protruding portion of the guide block is eccentrically disposed; a locking head is disposed on the top of the guide block; a pivoting hole is disposed in the middle section and the pivoting part of the slide is formed with a hollow tube to penetrate through the pivoting hole for installation; or alternatively a pivoting hole is disposed in the middle section and a through hole is disposed on the slide for a pivot to penetrate through the pivoting hole and to be riveted to the through hole.

The present invention allows easy and laborsaving operation, in compact construction to allow easier mounting onto the slide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing that a drawer is mounted to the preferred embodiment of the present invention in a status before adjustment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an operation status of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a slide (1), an adjusting lever (2), and a guide block (3). The slide (1) comprises at least an inner rail (11) and an outer rail (12). The inner rail (11) penetrates through the outer rail (12). A first aperture (111), a pivoting part (112), and a second aperture (113) are disposed on a front end of the inner rail (11) of the slide (1). The first aperture (111) is a vertical aperture and the second aperture (113) is a horizontal aperture. The adjusting lever (2) comprises a first end (21), a middle section (22) and a second end (23). A pivoting hole (221) is disposed in the middle section (22) of the adjusting lever (2). The pivoting part (112) on the inner rail (11) is formed with a hollow tube to penetrate through the pivoting hole (221) for the adjusting lever (2) to be pivoted to the inner rail (11) in a fashion of riveting as shown in the preferred embodiment. The first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) corresponds in position to the first aperture (111) of the inner rail (11), and the second end (23) of the adjusting lever (2) corresponds in position to the second aperture (113) of the inner rail (11). The guide block (3) is pivotally connected to the second end (23) of the adjusting lever (2). A protruding portion (31) is eccentrically disposed to the bottom of the guide block (3), and a locking head (32) with a cross-headed top is disposed on the top of the guide block (3) to facilitate the use of a screwdriver with a cross-headed tip to turn the guide block (3). The protruding portion (31) corresponds in position to the second aperture (113) of the inner rail (11). Furthermore, a positioning mark (33) is provided on the guide block (3), and the positioning mark (33) in the preferred embodiment is a gap on the edge.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when the positioning mark (33) of the guide block (3) is aligned at the tip of the second end (23) of the adjusting lever (2), the protruding portion (31) is located at an initial position, that is, the extreme left in the second aperture (113) before adjustment. The first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) is located at the center of the first aperture (111); meanwhile, a drawer (5) is mounted to the inner rail (11) of the slide (1) but not yet fully secured. A fastening member (4) penetrates through the first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) to connect to the drawer (5). For example, a screw penetrates the first end (21) to be secured to a side panel of the drawer (5).

When a hand tool, e.g., a screwdriver with a cross-headed tip is inserted into the locking head (32) to turn the guide block (3) for the protruding portion (31) to slide in the second aperture (113) as illustrated in FIG. 4. The adjusting lever (2) deflects with the pivoting hole (221) of the middle section (22) as the axis since the protruding portion (31) is eccentrically disposed; in turn the first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) descends to the bottom of the first aperture (111) and relatively the fastening member (4) drives the front of the drawer (5) to move downward. The adjusting lever (2) becomes a lever in relation to the guide block (3) and the first aperture (111) of the inner rail (11) of the slide (1). When the guide block (3) is operated to link the second end (23) of the adjusting lever (2), the first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) can be easily adjusted by taking advantage of the leverage of the adjusting lever (2). Accordingly, by having a hand tool to turn the guide block (3) allows easy longitudinal adjustment of the first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) thus to achieve fine tuning of the position of the drawer or deck fixed to the first end (21) of the adjusting lever (2) for higher or lower. This design of adjustment is particularly convenient in adjusting the spacing between two drawers when multiple drawers (5) stack up with the spacing between abutted panels (51) of the drawers (5) varies for them to show consistent and well coordinated appearance.

Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 5 for another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pivoting of a middle section (22 a) of an adjusting lever (2 a) to an inner rail (11 a) is achieved by having provided a pivoting hole (221 a) in the middle section (22 a) of the adjusting lever (2 a); a through hole (114 a) on the inner rail (11 a); and a pivot (115 a) to penetrate through the pivoting hole (221 a) to be riveted to the through hole (114 a). 

1. A drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism comprising a slide, an adjusting lever, and a guide block; a first aperture, a pivoting part, and a second aperture being disposed on the slide; the adjusting lever comprising a first end, a middle section, and a second end; the middle section of the adjusting lever being pivotally connected to the pivoting part of the slide, the first end of the adjusting lever corresponding in position to the first aperture of the slide; the second end of the adjusting lever corresponding in position to the second aperture of the slide; the guide block being pivotally connected to the second end of the adjusting lever; a protruding portion being disposed to the bottom of the guide block and corresponding in position to the second aperture of the slide; the protruding portion sliding in the second aperture by turning the guide block; the adjusting lever deflecting with the middle section where pivoted to the pivoting part as the axis; and the first end of the adjusting lever sliding in relation to the first aperture.
 2. The drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protruding portion of the guide block is eccentrically disposed to the guide block.
 3. The drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein a locking head is disposed on the top of the guide block.
 4. The drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pivoting hole is disposed in the middle section of the adjusting lever; the pivoting part of the slide is formed with a hollow tube to penetrate through the pivoting hole.
 5. The drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pivoting part of the slide is a through hole, and a pivot penetrates through the pivoting hole of the middle section of the adjusting lever to be riveted to the through hole.
 6. A drawer slide assembly having an adjustment mechanism comprising a slide, an adjusting lever, and a guide block; a first aperture, a pivoting part, and a second aperture being disposed on the slide; the adjusting lever comprising a first end, a middle section, and a second end; the middle section of the adjusting lever being pivotally connected to the pivoting part of the slide, the first end of the adjusting lever corresponding in position to the first aperture of the slide, a fastening member to connect to a drawer penetrating through the first end and the first aperture; the second end of the adjusting lever corresponding in position to the second aperture of the slide; the guide block being pivotally connected to the second end of the adjusting lever; a protruding portion being disposed to the bottom of the guide block and corresponding in position to the second aperture of the slide; a locking head being disposed on the top of the guide block; the protruding portion sliding in the second aperture by turning the locking head of the guide block; the adjusting lever deflecting with the middle section where pivoted to the pivoting part as the axis; and the first end of the adjusting lever sliding in relation to the first aperture to move the fastening member and the drawer. 